MAS, BIS publish proposal on global retail payments network connectivity

Called Project Nexus, the blueprint outlines how countries can integrate their retail payment systems onto a single cross-border network.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub Singapore Centre published their proposed blueprint on a system that would enhance the network connectivity of global retail payments.

Titled Project Nexus, the blueprint calls for a single cross-border network where countries can fully integrate their retail payment systems. This would allow customers to make safe and secure cross-border transfers thru their mobile phones or internet devices.

“To achieve significant cost-reduction in cross-border payment transfers, enhancements must be made on two fronts: direct connectivity between domestic faster payment systems, and frictionless foreign exchange on shared common wholesale settlement infrastructures. The BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre is working on both. The Nexus project maps out a much-needed set of standards to achieve seamless cross-border payment systems connectivity,” said MAS Chief FinTech Officer Sopnendu Mohanty in a press statement.

The blueprint comprises two main elements: the Nexus Gateways system and the Nexus Scheme governance framework.

The proposal is open for feedback, and interested parties can contact the Nexus team at singapore.centre@bisih.org.

Read more about Project Nexus here.